Lady&#39;s undergarment



K5231 L. DE VESCOVI LADYS UNDERGKRMENT Opt. 9, 1922 Filed 2. Wscow? Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

UNITED STATES 523,180 PATENT OFFICE.

LUCILLA. DE VESGOVI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO BLANCH]! P. SCRIBN'ER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LADY S UNDERGARMEN'I.

Application filed October, 9, 1922 Serial No. 593,278.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUCILLA DE Vnsoovr, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain parts, which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured and assembled, and which may be laundered and freshened without harm to the garment.

Another object is to provide a garment of the above character that will take the place of several garments, that is, combine the brassiere, vest or teddy or knickers in one piece.

A further object is to provide a brassiere or garment of the last above character which will fit the form and give it suficient support where needed, yet at the same time give all the desired freedom of movement and not detract in any way from the natural grace of the wearer.

A further object is to provide a garment that will hold its place on the figure at all times regardless of movement of the arms.

A further object is to provide a brassiere that will be exceedingly light and comfortable to wear at any time, one that will be free from unnecessary parts, straps and fastening means, and one that will comgletely enclose that portion of the body desire to be covered.

, A further object is to provide a brassiere that, because of its low-cut and inconspicuous character, is adapted to be conveniently worn with evening gowns.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in art hereinafter pointed out.

' e invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and in the unique refeatures of this invention and in order that lation of the members and of the relative proportioning and disposition thereof, all as more completely hereinafter outlined. To enable others skilled in the art to fully comprehend and understand the underlying they may embody the same by numerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depictlng a preferred form have been annexed and made part of this disclosure, and in such drawings like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout all the views, in which-- Figure 1 illustrates the parts constituting the invention laid out flat;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the finished article from the rear constituting a combined brassiere, vest and teddy or knickers according to the manner in which the lower part is made; and

Figure 3 is a detail view showing the fastening means at the back.

Referrin now to the drawings, and particularly E igur'e 1, the garment comprises two ortions, the upper or breast encircling portion 5 and the lower or waist embracing portion 6. In carrying out the general idea of simplicity and inexpensiveness of manufacture, these two portions are formed of one piece which is divided by a tuck 7.

Describing the upper or breast encircling portion 5 in detail, this portion is slightly curved to form a front or neck portion 8 and is materially narrowed towards the back, the extreme end portions being pleated as at 9 resulting in a further narrowing efi'ect. Circular openings are provided in this portion to which are attached the pockets 10 which act as supports for the breasts. These pockets may be formed by the four ieces 11, each piece being cut to form a su stantially herical triangle, and when stitched along t eir edges and to the edges of the opemngs hereinbefore mentioned form substantially hemispheres or segments of spheres.

The lower portion 6 of the brassiere proper forms a body enclosing band dosi ed and intended to hold the garment in pace and prevents its riding up over the reasts when the arms are raised. The tuck and stitching 7, as shown b the dotted lines in Figure 1, has a strengt ening and reinforcing eflect and also provides a source of Mo ,and similar garments. a neat appearance with evening dresses or At this point it might be well to note one special advantage of this garment when combined with other undergarments as above described, namely, that it does away with the large number of straps over the Wearers shoulders. Heretofore, each of the above noted garments has been supported by shoulder straps, and the different straps made an unsightly and uncomfortable arrangement, especially with evening dresses In order to present waists of transparent material it has been necessary heretofore to use some sort of a fastening device for holding all of the straps together, and this produced an awkward bunching and was ineffective to prevent the continual separating or slipping of one or more of the straps. In the present garment only two straps 13 are used, one at each side, and they are preferably made of elastic material which not only holds the garment in Elace, and permits freedom of movement,

ut by reason of their tensioned elasticity the straps are caused to cling securely to the shoulders without slipping.

Referring now to Figure 3, the back of the brassiere has a peculiar overlapping elastic fastening which permits yielding in either or both lateral directions, yet at all times completely covers the back and does not cause or allow any unsightly openings as do some other tvpes of brassieres now onthe market. This is shown in detail in Figure 3, in which the breast encircling part 5, separated from the part 6 by the tuck 7, has its adjacent ends 14 and 15 slightly overlapping'and to the vertical edges of which are attached a plurality of elastic tabs 16 provided at their ends with the loops adapted to fasten over the buttons 17, for example. The lower part is preferably secured by ordinary buttonholes and buttons 18. When the brassiere is in place it will be seen that the breasts are held in anatomical position, being properly and naturally spaced apart as in Figure 1, and a supporting action in four directions is obtained that is, up and down, by reason of the straps 13 and the body encircling band 6, and in both lateral directions by elastic tabs 16.

If desired the breast pockets 10 may be provided near the center with suitable fastening devices 20 whereby they may be partially opened when the garment is worn by nursin mothers.

Whi c any desired material may be used for the manufacture of this garment, it is the breasts from free movement due to the supports offered thereto in an up and down and side to side direction, does not subject the breasts to an uncomfortable pressure.

It is also obvious that the present invention rovides a simple and practical garment which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured and well adapted to accomplish among others all of the objects and advantages herein set forth;

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others may readily adapt it for various applications without omittlng certain features that from the standpoint of the prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and areintended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a one piece garment including a. bras-.

siere having a body encircling part and a breast encircling part, said parts having a strengthening tuck therebetween, said body encircling part and said breast encircling part being open in the back and the adjacent ends being held in overlapping position, elastic connectors at the ends of said breast encircling art to permit yielding in either or both directions, and elastic shoulder straps connected to the upper portion of said breast encircling part whereby the breasts are yieldingly supported in four directions.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a brassiere, a vest, and a lower member forming a single garment, said brassiere comprising a breast encircling portion and a lower body encircling band, said breast encircling portion being provided with two spaced apart breast o enings adapted to be closed by pockets, eac pocket being formed of triangular parts joined together along their adjacent edges and to the edges of said openings, said lower body encircling band being separated from said breast encirclin portion by a strengthening tuck and a apted to prevent the brassiere from riding in over the breasts when the arms are raise said brassiere adapted to open in the back and the adjacent ends thereof being held in overlapped position, elastic connectors on the ends of said breast encircling portion to permit yielding of the overlapped edges thereof in either or both lateral directions and elastic shoulder straps joined to the top edge of the brassiere, said connectors and supporting straps adapted to effect a yielding support for the breasts in four directions, said vest, and lower member being secured to said body encircling band and being continued below said band as desired.

An article of manufacture comprising a brassiere having a body encircling part apart reast openings adapted to be closed by pockets, each pocket being formed of triangular parts joined together alon their adjacent edges and to the edges of sai opening, said brassiere adapted to open in the back and having the adjacent ends thereof held in overlapping position, said breast encircling part having shortened ends Whereby the height of said ends is materially reduced, elastic fastening means on each over lapped end of said breast encircling portion to permit yielding thereof in either or both directions, and elastic shoulder straps c0n-. neoted to the top portion of said breast encircling portion whereby the breasts are yieldingly supported in four directions.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature.

LUCILLA DE VESCOVI. 

